


Winner Takes All

by Five_star_hellhole



Category: Cassandra Palmer Series - Karen Chance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 12:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13658580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Five_star_hellhole/pseuds/Five_star_hellhole
Summary: A moment without supervision, Fred and Cassie. One shot.





	Winner Takes All

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OverlyCaffeinatedWarmage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverlyCaffeinatedWarmage/gifts).



This was it, her breath held in tight anticipation, they couldn’t stop this now even if they tried. Cassie let out the breath she was holding and bashed her cart into Fred’s, laughing as he careened into the sidewall and spun out, a balloon detaching from his cart. Well not his, but Bowzer’s on Mario Cart. The little girls on the floors and laps around them laughed and giggled as they watched the two of them play. 

Fred started cursing before catching himself and looking guilty. Rico reached over and gave a soft slap on the back of his head as Fred righted the cart and started chasing her down. They were both down to one balloon. They had needed this, this break. They had been going nonstop, barely sleeping but now with Pritkin back they could take a moment. The war mage in question was out thankfully, running through the deserted strip. Scant seconds after he left, and after verifying Rhea was still out grocery shopping, Fred had snuck in with the Nintendo 64 and began plugging it in.  
They had been planning this for days, waiting for the perfect opportunity to finally have their battle royale. The vamps and girls taking sides. Marco was firmly on her side as were about half the girls. The rest had abandoned her to cheer on Fred. The vamps silently passing money back and forth as they watched and placed bets, careful to keep an eye out for Pritkin and Rhea. A few of them were casually loitering outside the door and in the hallway so they could have enough warning to sneak everything into their hideyholes before they got caught. A Pythia shouldn’t have to hide what she’s doing but, when it came to the way the household was run, well, no one wanted to disappoint Rhea or get the exasperated sigh from Pritkin.

She was trying to outrun a green shell that Fred had lobbed at her and was barely keeping out of its ricocheting path. A little blonde girl in her lap clapped her hands as she watched Princess Peach finally escape the shell. She had let the little girl, Phoebe, pick the character when she had climbed into her lap. She always preferred Toadstool but who was she to say no? 

As she tried to stalk down Bowzer through the bridges of the game, she saw Fred and a few others straighten slightly and glance at the door. Rhea must be returning with the groceries, she had been nearly finished when they had called her. She snapped her eyes back to the game to do a final run at Fred, winner take all. An eerie quiet settled across everyone as the two faced off down the corridor. With the rev of their engines they barreled towards each other. A balloon hanging above their carts. Fred leaning forward, all civility gone as he bared his teeth at the screen. With a crash the two collided, balloons rising in the air. A breath was held until the screen flashed the winner.

Marco groaned next to her, passing a twenty over to Rico. By the grace of a millisecond Fred had been given the win.  
“Stupid game” she snipped at him. “I always was better at Golden Eye”. Fred just grinned at her before sniffing in a superior way and looked back at the screen where Bowzer was doing a victory lap.

“I doubt it” an amused voice said from the door, “I’ve seen you shoot.” Cassie whipped her head to the right to look at the door and saw Pritkin leaning against the frame with a single eyebrow raised. She dropped her forehead and hid her face in Phoebe’s hair. She would never live this down.


End file.
